


The Quest

by bashfulglowfly



Series: Questers [1]
Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-21
Updated: 2016-05-21
Packaged: 2018-06-09 17:46:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6917125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bashfulglowfly/pseuds/bashfulglowfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Usagi sends the Inner Senshi on a Quest...not that they know that they are going on one. Will they find what they are unknowingly seeking? Some bad language. The Story is Complete. Please Read, Enjoy and Review.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Mamoru stepped into the bedroom and stopped.  His beloved Usagi was kneeling in the middle of the floor, gazing into the _Ginzuishou_ that was cupped in her hands.

 

He walked softly around her, sat on the bed and waited for her to stop communing with her crystal.

 

Some ten minutes later, Usagi blinked and stirred.  The _Ginzuishou_ disappeared from her hands.

 

“What were you doing, Usako?” Mamoru asked.

 

Usagi jumped.  She hadn’t realized that he was in the room with her.  “What do you mean?”

 

Mamoru’s eyes narrowed.  Usagi was looking at him with wide eyes.  Wide blue eyes with fluttering lashes.

 

He knew that look.  He’d seen it for five years and knew that she was Up To Something.

 

“Usagi…” His tone was stern.

 

Her shoulders slumped.  She had hoped that she could get away with it but she was never successful in lying to Mamoru.  Especially once they really got to know each other.  “I’m sending the girls on a quest.”

 

A dark eyebrow arched.  “A quest?  What sort of quest?”

 

Usagi grinned.  “A superhero quest!”

 

Mamoru rubbed his face with one hand.  He loved Usagi dearly but there were times that she came up with weirdest damn things.  “You are sending the girls on a superhero quest?”  Usagi nodded.  “I don’t think that’s going to make Michiru, Haruka and Setsuna happy knowing that Hotaru is questing something.”

 

“Oh!  Not the Outers!” Usagi said quickly.  “Just the Inners.”

 

“Are you going to tell them that they are on a quest?”  He asked.

 

“No.”  Usagi jumped up and sat on his lap.  Mamoru wrapped his arms around her waist.  “That’s the whole point.  They have to discover what they are searching for on their own without any help.”

 

“If they don’t know that they are on a quest, how are they going to know when they find what it is you’re making them quest for?”

 

Usagi smiled and softly kissed him.  “They’ll know it when they find it.”


	2. Freeze

Ami moaned.

 

Her head hurt.

 

 _“Miss!  Miss!  Can you hear me?!  Move your hand if you understand me!”_   The voice echoed through her skull, making it hurt even more.

“Leave me alone.  My head hurts.”

 

 _“Oh.  You’re Japanese.”_   The voice softened.  “Do you understand me now?”

 

“Yes.”  Ami tried to move but gasped then whimpered at the pain.  Her eyes flew open and she found herself staring…at wreckage.

 

Her mind stumbled.  _Was I in a fight?  I couldn’t have been in a fight.  It’s been three years since an Enemy came.  How did I get here?_

 

Then it came back to her.

 

She was in Europe.

 

For some reason, she decided that she needed to take a vacation and she decided that she wanted to go to Europe. 

 

She was in Switzerland.  On a bus…that had apparently crashed.

 

Slowly she turned her head and looked toward the voice.  It was a young man but she couldn’t see him clearly in the gloom, snow and wreckage.

 

“Hello.”  His voice sent a shiver down her spine.

 

Ami smiled shakily.  “Hello.”  She tried to sit up but yelped with pain.

 

“DON’T MOVE!” The man’s voice was urgent.  “You’re pinned.  Can you feel your arms and legs?  Do you feel like anything is terribly wrong?”

 

Ami took deep shuddering breaths:  in through the nose and out through the mouth.  Then she concentrated on herself.  “I can move my hands and feet but I can’t move my legs.  I think my left arm is broken but I can’t tell if it’s bleeding or not.  And my right arm is pinned.”

 

“Okay.  Not good but okay.  You are on the side of the bus that is against the ground, so everything has piled up on your side.”

 

“What about you?  Are you okay?  Can you move?”

 

“Both of my arms are free and I can move my feet but my legs are pinned as well.”

 

“What happened?”

 

“I don’t know.  I was asleep then the next thing I knew we were like this.”

 

“What about the other passengers?”

 

“You are the first person to speak.”

 

Ami craned her head the best she could.  She could see a couple of people.  It was obvious that they were dead.  She couldn’t tell about anyone else but it didn’t look good.  “We were both in the back of the bus.”

 

“Yeah.  That’s probably why we’re both still alive.”  The man sighed.  “By the way, I’m Zander Findlay.”

 

“Mizuno Ami.” She managed to gasp out.

 

Zander’s tone was worried.  “What’s wrong.”

 

“Just a sudden pain.”  She managed to smile even if he couldn’t see it.  “I’ll be okay.”

 

“Hold on.  I’m going to try and free myself then I’ll get you out of there.  We can’t stay the way we are.”

 

Ami listened as she heard him grunt as metal and fabric protested against being moved.  She felt the bus shudder beneath her back.  “Stop!”

 

Zander stilled.  “What?”

 

“I felt the bus move.”

 

“Shit!”  He held still for a moment.  “What about now?”

 

“No, I don’t feel anything.”

 

“Good.”

 

She heard him begin to move again.  This time using more caution.  She yawned.

 

“AMI!  DON’T YOU DARE FALL ASLEEP!”

 

Ami jerked awake.  “Sorry.”

 

“You can’t fall asleep.  I know you’re cold and you’re hurting but you can’t fall asleep.  No matter what your body is telling you.”

 

“I know.”  She hesitated.  “I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t be sorry, darling.  It’s normal but you have to stay awake for me.”

 

“Are you a doctor?”

 

“No, but my father is.  I’m a Search and Rescue Volunteer though.”

 

“That can be difficult.”

 

“Yeah, especially when idiots don’t go hiking properly prepared.”  He grunted as he moved something that sounded large.  “What about you?”

 

“I’m going to be a doctor like my mother.”

 

“That good.”  He gave a last grunt and something fell behind Ami with a crash.  She heard rustling noises then a face came into sight.  A face that was eerily familiar yet not.  The green eyes were the same but the face seemed more masculine.  She couldn’t see his hair because a knit cap covered it.  He smiled down at her.  “Hi.” He said softly as his gloved fingers brushed against her cheek.

 

“Hi.”

 

“You lost that cute hat you were wearing.”  Zander looked around.  “I don’t see it but…”  He tugged a hat out of the wreckage.  It was pink…and had bloodstains on it.  He looked at it for a moment, then looked at her.

 

“Put it on me.”  Ami said softly.

 

Zander smiled sadly and slipped it on her head, carefully trying not to move her too much.  Then he sat back and assessed the wreckage that trapped her.  Taking a deep breath he looked her in the eye.  “It’s going to take a bit to free you.  But I’m going check on the other passengers first.”

 

Ami nodded.  Zander brushed her cheek one last time and disappeared into the gloom.  Ami concentrated on taking deep breaths and reciting the Periodic Table.

 

Shortly, Zander returned.  His face was grim.  “We’re the only survivors.”

 

Ami close her eyes and felt tears trickled down her face.

 

Zander brushed them away.  “I didn’t mean to make you cry, love.”

 

Ami opened her eyes at the endearment but he didn’t seem to notice that he’d made it.  Zander was looking at the wreckage that pinned her.  Carefully he began to move pieces away from her.  Slowly the pressure of the wreckage began to ease.  “So, why did you come to Switzerland, Ami?”

 

“I don’t know.  I just got this whim to take a vacation.” She said.

 

Zander grinned at her bewildered tone.  “I take it you aren’t given to whims.”  Ami shook her head.  “I needed a break from studying myself.  So I thought I’d spend a long weekend skiing.  Didn’t exactly work out though.”

 

Ami gasped as he freed her left arm.  “Don’t move!”  Zander carefully examined it.  “It is broken.  Not too badly.  If we get out of here quickly, I don’t think you’ll have to have surgery.”  He rummaged through the wreckage and found four straight pieces of metal of varying lengths and made a splint.  Ami bit her lip to keep from crying out as he tied torn strips of fabric around it.  “That’s my girl!”  Zander brushed his lips against hers.

 

Ami was shocked at the feeling it gave her.  Warmth spread throughout her body and she yearned for another of his kisses.  _He was one of the Enemy and all I can think of is having him hold me?  I’m either insane or dying._

 

Zander continued to move the wreckage away from her body.  Then he froze.  His head jerked up and he seemed to be listening.

 

“What is it?” asked Ami.

 

“Sirens.” He said.  “I hear sirens!”  He smiled down at her.

 

“Do you think you can get out?  I’ll wait.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Zander leaned down and kissed her again.  “I’ll be back and we’ll get you out of here.”

 

Ami watched as he once again disappeared.  She fought until she heard him coming back, talking with other people.  She smiled as she was swallowed by the darkness.

 

888888

 

The light stung her eyes but she blinked rapidly and realized that they were not as bright as she thought.  She looked down at her left arm and saw that it was encased in a blue fiberglass cast.

 

“I thought that you would like the blue color the best.” Said a soft voice.

 

Ami looked over.  It was Zander.  She searched his face.  She didn’t know what she was looking for but she just knew that she had to look.  “Thank you.”

 

He smiled and straightened in the reclining chair next to her bed.  She glanced down and saw that his right leg was encased in a soft cast.  “What happened?”

 

Zander glanced down at the black boot covering his leg to his knee.  “I told the doctors that I was okay.  They told me to shut up.  They took x-rays and discovered a hairline fracture.  So, I’ll have to wear this for a few weeks.”  He leaned over until their faces were just a few inches apart.  “Don’t you scare me like that again, my water nymph.”

 

Her eyes searched his.  “It is you.”

 

“Yeah.  I didn’t know about either of us until after the crash but I remembered.”  Green eyes searched blue.  “I’m sorry I didn’t come back to you like I promised.”

 

Ami felt the tears run down her cheeks as she remembered him making that promise.  Zander carefully wiped them away.  “I’ll never, ever leave you again.”

 

“How can I trust you?  You were one of Beryl’s Generals.”  The tears rolled faster down her cheeks and she began to cry.  She felt as if her heart was going to burst.  She clenched her fist and felt something cut into her palm.  Opening her hand, she saw it was her Crystal.  It flared into her eyes.

 

“Ami!  Ami!”  Zander’s worried voice brought her back to herself. 

 

She looked at the man that she had been waiting all her life for.  Still holding her Crystal, she brushed his cheek with her fingers.  “I’m sorry.  I’m sorry I wasn’t going to believe you or trust you.”  She smiled  “I love you, Zoicite.  And I will never leave you either!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: Zander means “Defender of Humankind” and Findlay means “Fair Hero”.


	3. Wildfire

Rei ran.

 

She didn’t look back but she felt it behind her.

 

Roaring for her life.

 

She cursed the fact that she’d left her Crystal with Usagi when she left for this stupid vacation.  If she had her Crystal with her she could transform and outrun it or fight fire with fire.

 

“I am NEVER going camping by myself again.”  She thought for a moment.  “I am NEVER going camping again PERIOD!”  She had no idea what possessed her to do this.

 

Rei coughed as thick, choking smoke rolled over her.  She took a chance and looked over her shoulder.  She could see the flames.  They were taller than the trees. 

 

She turned and started running again.

 

She was yanked to a halt.  She stared numbly at the hand gripping her arm.  Then she looked into the face of the man who had stopped her.

 

**“NO!!”**

 

Rei tore her arm from his grasp and turned to run.  But she was tackled to the ground.  The blood in her ears roared as loud as the fire and she couldn’t hear what was being shouted at her.  She managed to twist onto her back and kicked the man away from her.

 

Rolling to her feet, she grabbed a thick branch that was smoldering and swung it at the man.  She bared her teeth at him.  “I won’t let you kill me!”

 

The man before her held out his hands to her.  The yellow clothing he wore highlighted his blue eyes.  “Lady, I’m not going to hurt you.  Okay?  I’m here to help.”

 

“Help?”  Rei barked a laugh.  “I remember your “help”!  Trying to destroy my home, my grandfather’s reputation.  Oh and let’s not forget the airplanes!”

 

The puzzlement in the blue eyes made her scream and she attacked him, swinging the branch wildly.  He continued to dodge her as he tried to talk to her.  “I don’t know what you are talking about.  But I do know you are scared.  It’s okay.  I’m a firefighter.  I help people.  I want to help you.  All you have to do is put the branch down.  I’ll get you out of here safe and sound.  I promise.”

 

Rei kept swinging and he kept dodging.

 

Suddenly from behind, “HEY!”  Rei turned and her vision was filled with a brown fist.

 

“…duct taped her!”

 

Rei didn’t open her eyes and tried to keep her breathing steady.

 

Her face hurt.

 

“Hell yes I duct taped the crazy bitch!  You didn’t see how she was attacking Jay!”

 

“She was scared.  Fear makes people do crazy things.”  His voice was the same as before:  Deep and charming.  She fought against its spell.

 

“You take that tape off, Jay, I’ll have you brought up on charges!  I’m not going to have my throat cut in the middle of the night by some psycho broad!”

 

Rei nearly shook with the need to tell the man calling her crazy what she thought about him.  But she continued to keep her body still and her breathing steady.

 

“How are we going to get her out of her, Boss?”

 

“We’ll use the portable stretcher and get her out that way.  Then when we get back to Base, we’ll turn her over to the Medics and suggest that she has a psych eval.”

 

Rei couldn’t take it anymore.  Her eyes flew open and she tried to sit up but she couldn’t.  “I’m not crazy!” she yelled…or tried to yell.  Her voice was barely a whisper.

 

Blond hair and blue eyes filled her vision.  “Don’t try to speak.  You’ve breathed in a lot of smoke.”  He held up a water bottle.  She watched as he untwisted the cap, she heard the seal break on it.  “Water, just for you.  You’re the only one who has used it.”  He slid an arm under her shoulders and lifted her upright.  He rested her head against his shoulder and put the bottle to her lips.  “Slowly.  Slowly.”  Rei stopped trying to gulp the water.  “That’s it.  Small sips so you don’t get sick.”  He continued until half the bottle was gone and she turned her face away.

 

He carefully lowered her to the ground.  She could feel the blanket beneath her head.  Looking down her body, she could see that her hands were duct taped together and her arms were duct taped to her body.  Her ankles were also duct taped together.  She looked up at the man, violet eyes blazing.

 

He had the audacity to smile at her.  “Sorry about all the duct tape.  It wasn’t my idea.  My boss was pretty pissed off about you attacking me.”

 

Her eyes narrowed.  “Was he the one who hit me?”

 

“Yeah.  Which surprised me.  He’s usually pretty protective about women.”  The man smiled at her as he brushed hair away from her face.  “I’m Junjie King.  What’s your name?”

 

“Hino Rei.”  She was reluctant to give her name but he had given her his name.  It was the polite thing to do.

 

“Pretty.”  He looked her up and down.  “Other than your face, do you hurt anywhere?”

 

“No.”

 

“Were you by yourself or where you camping with someone?”

 

“I was by myself.”

 

Junjie tilted his head then scooted his body down until their bodies were side by side and they were face to face, his head resting on his arm.  “Why would you want to go camping by yourself?  You aren’t even from Australia, are you?”

 

“I’m from Japan.  And what’s wrong with camping alone?  Maybe I like being alone!”  Rei conveniently forgot that she had sworn that she would never go camping again.

 

“You don’t strike me as much of a camper.  City girl, yes.  Camper, no.”

 

Rei just glared.  Junjie laughed and kissed her nose.  He laughed again as she tried to bite him.  “Stay there.  I’ll get you something to eat.”  He rose to his feet and walked off.

 

Rei looked around.  It was a small and primitive set up.  No fire – she wasn’t surprised about that.  But all she saw where backpacks, bedrolls and tools.  She looked down at her body and tried to force the duct tape to stretch from her wrists and arms.

 

“You’ll just hurt yourself.  Albert, my boss, wrapped that around you pretty good.  So you won’t get free since you don’t have any way to transform.”

 

Rei gaped at him. 

 

He smiled.  “Yeah, I know who you are.  Sailor Mars, Senshi of Fire.”  He frowned at her.  “What were you thinking going around without the ability to transform?”

 

“I didn’t think that I needed it.” Rei gritted out.

 

“Well, you thought wrong.”  He tilted his head at her.  “But I have to say that I’m glad that you left it behind.  Otherwise I wouldn’t have found you.”

 

“Jadeite!”  Her tone, while hoarse, was angry.

 

“Ah!  Not at the moment.  Call me Junjie or Jay.”

 

The look in her eyes said that she’d rather call him “Dead Meat.”

 

He set a brown packet on the ground and once again pulled her body until it was resting against his.  Picking up the packet, he held it in front of them pulling out a spoon.  “This is chicken with rice.  Not too bad.  I put some Tabasco in it to add a little flavor.”  He scooped up a small spoonful.  “Open wide.”

 

Rei thought about refusing the food but realized that she needed the energy.  She opened her mouth and Junjei neatly popped the food inside.  Rei chewed, swallowed and opened her mouth for another mouthful.  Neither said anything to each other as he quietly fed her and gave her water.

 

Rei could see the looks that they were getting from Junjei’s fellow firefighters.

 

“Get some sleep, guys.  It’s late and dawn will come quickly.  Scotty, you take first watch.”  The orders came from a man that appeared to be Aboriginal.  His voice identified him as the one referred to as “Albert.”

 

Junjei shook out a foil blanket and tucked it around Rei.  “This will keep you warm.”  He laid down next to her, covering himself with his own blanket and resting his head on his backpack.  “Just say my name if you need anything.”

 

“Which one?” Rei said waspishly.

 

He grinned at her.  “Whichever one you think of.”

 

Dawn came too soon.  Rei quickly found herself on a portable stretcher, jolting across the terrain.  She cursed the fact that her vanity and embarrassment of peeing in the bushes around these men made her deny that she had to go.  Her bladder was letting her know that it was overly full with every jolt.  She prayed that they would get somewhere with some sort of toilet soon.

 

Junjei held the handles of the stretcher at her head and as they walked along he talked to her.  He told her about how his Chinese mother met his Australian father, his brothers and sisters, his schooling, what he liked to do when he wasn’t fighting fires and whatever else that seemed to come to his mind.

 

His fellows snickered and shook their heads.  Albert looked at Junjei in amazement at what he was telling Rei.  “She tried to kill you and you’re telling her about your family?”

 

Rei could feel Junjei shrug.  “Yeah, why not?  I’m going to marry her.”

 

“Jay.  She tried to KILL you!”  Albert spoke slowly as if he was trying to communicate with the Village Idiot.

 

Junjei shrugged again.  “Wouldn’t be the first time.  Actually, she succeeded once.”

 

Albert blinked at him.  “What?”

 

“She killed me.”  Junjei smiled at him.  “In a previous lifetime.”

 

“You are strange.”

 

888888

 

Finally the group reached the command post and Rei was turned over to the medics.  Fortunately for the sake of her bladder, the medics removed the duct tape and directed her to a bathroom.  Rei nearly cried in relief as the pressure went away.  _I’ll get even with him for this!_   She ignored the fact that her full bladder was her fault.

 

She was made to sit down and talk with someone about why she attacked Junjei.  With judicious lying and channeling Minako, she managed to convince them that she was harmless.

 

After a shower and a change of clothes, she felt human once again.  Then it hit her.

 

She lost everything in the fire.  Her passport.  Her money.  And her return ticket home.

 

Junjei came upon her as she sat on a bench staring numbly into the distance, wondering what she was going to do.  “What’s wrong, firebird?”

 

She stared at him.  Part of her wanted to trust him but she had been through so much with him, her father, Kaidou…then she felt something in her hand.  Looking down, she saw that it was her Crystal.  It flared into her eyes and when she could see again, Junjei was still there.  Waiting for her.

 

She slapped him.

 

Then she crawled into his lap and cried against his neck.  He wrapped his arms tight about her, kissing her gently.  “I’ll kill you if you leave me again.” She whispered.

 

Junjei gave a small laugh.  “Okay.”

 

“I lost everything in the fire.  My passport.  Money.  My ticket.  Everything.”

 

Junjei tilted her head up so that he could look into her eyes.  “You can stay with me until everything is fixed.  I’ll take you to the Japanese Embassy.  I’m sure that they have ways to help people in your sort of situation.”

 

“Thank you.”  She kissed him.  Not caring about the wolf whistles that started.

 

She felt rather than heard his “You’re welcome.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: Junjie means “Handsome Hero”


	4. Thunderstorm

Makoto dragged herself out of the water, inch by inch.

 

The life vest threatened to catch on the rocks and drag her back into the water but she didn’t want to remove it just yet.  She didn’t want to take the chance until she was on dry land.

 

Finally she crawled onto land that was completely dry.  She rolled over onto her back and panted.  After she regained her breath, she sat up and removed the life vest.  She staggered to her feet and moved carefully to the edge of the river but she couldn’t see the raft that she’d been on or any of her fellow passengers.

 

She felt tears well up in her eyes and scrubbed them away.  She didn’t know how she got tossed out of the raft but she did.  The river trip was supposed to be an easy one.  No major rapids.  But somehow the water was more dangerous than their guide said.

 

She tilted her face up to the sun, relishing its warmth.  Then she shivered.

 

She was soaked.

 

Quickly, Makoto stripped off her clothes and wrung them out.  Trying to get out as much water as she could without destroying the fabric.  After she laid the pants, shirt, socks and sneakers on a sunny rock, she stood in her bra and panties and looked around her surroundings.  She was on a narrow strip of land.  Mostly rocks.  The river rushed behind her as she looked up the cliff face.  _There is no way I’m going to be able to climb that…even if I knew how to rock climb._   She walked to the boundaries of her confines and tried to see if there was a way she could go around but all there was were river and rock wall.

 

“Damn.”

 

She was going to have to wait and be rescued.

 

Which really grated on her nerves!

 

“I’m not supposed to be rescued!  I’m a Sailor Senshi!  I’m the one that’s supposed to be doing the rescuing!”  She thought kicking something but changed her mind since kicking something barefoot would hurt!

 

She sat down on a rock next to her clothes and contemplated the fact that she had been insane when she decided to leave Japan and take a vacation.  A vacation without her Crystal.  “I have no idea why I thought that this would be a good idea, let alone getting in that dinky raft and going down a river!  I’ve lost my mind!”

 

As she sat there, the sun started to go down.  She realized that it would take a while for someone to come to get her.  She touched her clothes.  They were not dry but with the sun going down, she figured that it would get colder.  As she dressed, she prayed that someone would come soon.

 

After slipping on her sneakers she looked around to see if there was anything that she could use to start a fire.  Gathering up several pieces of wood, she made a pile then went looking at the rocks.  She had no clue what sort of rocks would create a sparks for a fire but she had to try.

 

The sun had gone down below the cliff when she gave up.  None of the rocks that she tried created any sparks whatsoever.

 

She shivered as the night wind blew down the canyon.  She moved to the base of the cliff, trying to absorb the heat that the rocks had gathered during the day.  She knew that it wouldn’t last long.

 

She watched the sky as the Moon rose and the stars came out.  She smiled at the beauty.  She wished that she had a camera that could take a picture of what she was seeing.  One didn’t see stars like this in Tokyo.  She knew that the other girls would enjoy seeing the Moon and stars this way…if they weren’t stranded like she was.

 

Makoto never noticed that her eyes slowly closed and she fell asleep.

 

“Hey.”

 

“Hey.”

 

“MISS!  WAKE UP!”

 

Makoto started.  She was hearing things.

 

“MISS!  Do you hear me?”

 

She scrambled to her feet and moved away from the cliff face.

 

A powerful flashlight shone onto her face and she raised a hand to shield her eyes.

 

“Miss, do you understand me?”

 

“Yes!”  Makoto shouted back.

 

“Are you hurt?”

 

“No.”

 

“Good.”

 

Makoto could see a shadowy figure against the moon at the top of the cliff.  She could tell that the man was tall but she couldn’t see any other details.

 

“I can’t get down to you until the morning.  It’s too dangerous to climb at night.  Will you be okay down there?”

 

Makoto hesitated for a moment.  She was scared and cold and hungry but she didn’t want anyone risking his life climbing down the cliff just because of those little things.  “I will be alright.”

 

“I’m going to throw a few things down to you.  Hang on a minute.”

 

Makoto waited as the man disappeared for a moment.  Then he reappeared, holding a small bundle in his hand.

 

“I’m going to drop it now.”  The man gently tossed the bundle over the cliff.

 

Makoto watched as it glinted silver in the moonlight as it tumbled down.  She didn’t try to catch it but grabbed it before it went into the river.  The silver item was a foil blanket.  Wrapped inside that was a bottle of water and a packet of food.

 

“Did you get it?”

 

Makoto started but called up.  “Yes!  Thank you!”

 

“You’re welcome.  Eat, drink and then get some sleep.  I’ll start coming down at dawn.”

 

“Okay.”  Makoto watched until she couldn’t see the man anymore then went back to her place against the wall.  She opened the bottle of water and took a long swallow.  Then she opened the packet of food.  She tried to keep herself from devouring it.  She took one bite at a time and slowly chewed.  But the food was gone all too soon.  As was the water but she figured that the man would have more when he arrived in the morning.

 

She wrapped the foil blanket around her and fell back asleep.

 

“Miss?”  Makoto felt a hand shake her shoulder.  Blinking, she tried to focus on the figure in front of her.

 

“My name is Makoto.” She said sleepily.

 

“Hello Makoto.  My name is Naldo Guerrero de Aritza.  Can you sit up for me?”

 

Makoto pushed herself upright then looked at her rescuer.

 

Her breath caught in her throat.

 

He was handsome.  Long dark brown hair in a neat braid.  Beautiful blue eyes looked her up and down.

 

She had never seen him before but the other girls had told her about him.

 

Nephrite.

 

He smiled.  Teeth white against tanned skin.  “Can you stand?”

 

Makoto stared at him for a moment then nodded.

 

He straightened then held out a hand.  He waited patiently until she placed her hand in his.  Carefully he pulled her to her feet.

 

Slowly he walked around her, carefully examining every inch.  “Good.  You really aren’t hurt.”

 

“No.”

 

“You were damned lucky.  So were the people you were traveling with.”  He fumbled in his backpack.  “Here.  Eat this.”  He handed her another packet of food.

 

“They’re okay?!”  Makoto tore the packet open and rapidly began to eat.

 

“Yes.  No thanks to the jackass that took you out on the river.  You were the only one who fell out of the raft.”

 

“I was told that it would be an easy trip.”

 

Naldo frowned.  “It would have been but it’s rained for the last three days upriver.  The tour operator should never have taken anyone, let alone beginners, out on the river.”  He took the empty packet from her and put it back in his backpack.

 

“What’s going to happen to him?”

 

“Well, for starters, he’ll lose all of his permits.  Which will put him out of business.”  He shot a glance at her.  “This isn’t the first time that he’s endangered clients, so don’t feel sorry for him.”

 

Makoto stared then grinned.  He was right, she was about to feel sorry for the tour operator but if he’d risked people’s lives before, perhaps he shouldn’t be in business.

 

“Okay.  We’re going to have to get up the cliff.  We’re going to go tandem.  I don’t want you to try and help us along.  Let me do all of the work.  Do you understand?”  He gazed sternly at her.

 

Makoto nodded.  She wasn’t sure how to feel about meeting one of the Enemy out in the middle of nowhere but he hadn’t attacked her.  And, dammit, he was sexy as hell.  And taller!

 

Quickly he put the harness on her then strapped a helmet on her head.  He led her over to the ropes hanging down from the cliff.  Efficiently, he looped the ropes through their harnesses.  “Ready?” he asked.  At her assent, he began the slow process of pulling them up.

 

Less than a hour later, they were at the top of the cliff.  Naldo helped her take off the harness then radioed to his base.  He frowned at what he heard.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

He sighed.  “We’re going to have to walk.  The helicopter is involved with another Search and Rescue that is taking longer than they thought.  That’s why it wasn’t used to get you out of there.  But the base is sending someone in a vehicle out to get us.”

 

“I can walk.”

 

Naldo smiled and raised a hand to her cheek.  “I know, Sparky.”

 

Makoto gasped and took a step back from him.  She held up a hand to ward him off but her Crystal suddenly appeared in it and captured her gaze.

 

“Makoto?”  Naldo’s worried voice brought her back to reality.

 

Tears filled her eyes as she leapt into his arms, wrapping her own arms around his neck.  “Oh, Neph!  You stupid fool!”

 

Naldo’s arms held her close.  “Yeah.  I was.  Sorry.  I won’t do that again.”

 

Makoto leaned back and looked at him.  She laughed through her tears.  “You better not!”

 

“Speaking if things that won’t be done again…why are you here by yourself, Sparky?”

 

She shook her head as she smiled up at him.  “I don’t know.  I just had this urge to go on vacation and come here.”

 

Naldo stared at her for a moment.  “Huh.  Well, it must have been fate.  On my way here, the stars told me that I would find the perfect woman.”

 

“They did?”

 

“Yeah, they did.”  He smiled at her and the pair held each other close.  Then, in perfect harmony, they began walking towards the Search and Rescue base, hand in hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note #1: Naldo means “Strong”, Guerrero means “Warrior” and Artiza means “Oak”. And if I’ve REALLY screwed up Hispanic naming conventions…I do apologize!
> 
> Author’s Note #2: I’m sure that a real person involved in Search and Rescue probably would not have been alone. Let alone go down a cliff by himself, but this is a story.


	5. Obsession

_Damn him!_

 

_Damn him!_

 

_Damn him!_

 

_Why doesn’t he look at me?_

Minako tossed her hair back and kept smiling as her fellow model placed a hand on her breast and began kissing her neck.  The photographer continued to shout instructions at the pair standing at the edge of the water on the beach.

 

Minako had loved the feeling of Tel Aviv the minute she arrived.  The ancient with the modern.  She hadn’t loved the bodyguard that had been assigned to her:  Kunz Herrmann.

 

It wasn’t just because he looked exactly like Kunzite.  A man she helped kill five years ago.

 

He ignored her!

 

She flirted, he would point out a unique building.

 

She brushed up against him, he would tell her to watch her step.

 

He was aggravating!

 

She continued to smile as David whispered in her ear.  “What’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

David scoffed.  “Yeah, right.  You’re just angry that the delightfully yummy bodyguard assigned to you won’t give you the time of day.”

 

Minako barely kept from snarling at him.  “He’s probably gay.” She sniffed.

 

“You wish.”  Laughed David.  “I wish too!”  He grinned at her.  “I already tried and was VERY firmly shut down.”

 

The photographer shouted for them to come and change into another outfit.  Minako walked across the sand to the tent where she could change.

 

Exiting the tent, she rejoined David who started up the conversation as if they never left off.  “Trust me, that hunk of prime Israeli beef has eyes only for you.”

 

“I thought he was German with his name and all.”

 

“Jewish.  Star of David around his neck.  Besides, I asked him.  He was born in Jerusalem.”

 

Minako bit her lip as she realized that she didn’t know much about the man other than his name and the fact that he looked like Kunzite…but with his silver hair in a military cut.

 

The shoot lasted until the sun went down.  During that entire time, Minako did her best to watch Kunz.  He never seemed to look at her once.  She tried to catch him looking but he always seemed to be looking at the crowd that was watching the shoot.  Or he was looking at the ocean at the boats in the water.

 

Not once did she see him looking at her.  Even when she was wearing little more than a thong and David’s hands for modesty.

 

_Damn him!_

 

“So, we don’t have to report until mid-morning tomorrow…so what are you going to do?” asked one of the other models.

 

Minako smiled.  “I’m going to get something to eat, then I’m going to dance half the night!”

 

The other girl smiled.  “I’m envious.  I wish I could do that but my mom is here.”

 

Minako patted the other girl on the shoulder.  “That’s why I never got my mom involved with my modeling.  She’d interfere in my fun too much!”

 

The other girl laughed.  “Enjoy yourself!”

 

Minako winked.  “I will!”

 

Minako swept out of the tent and sashayed to the parking lot.  Kunz fell in step beside her.  “Are we going to your hotel, miss?”

 

Minako glanced at her “guardian” out of the corner of her eye.  “No.  I’m hungry.  Where’s some place with excellent food and an outdoor patio?”

 

“You must be tired.  You can get room service.”

 

Minako whirled on him.  Hands on her hips.  Glaring.  “If I wanted room service, I would have told you to take me to my hotel.  I did not do that.  I want to eat at an outdoor café!”

 

“Fine.”  The single word was calm.

 

 _Damn him!_  

 

His lack of reaction was irritating as hell.  She realized that she was being perverse.  She wanted to hate him for what he had done to Usagi, Mamoru, the other Senshi and herself but she also wanted to crawl inside his skin and never leave.

 

_Damn me!_

 

Kunz took her to a small outdoor café, where the owner himself served her and happily flirted with her.  She tried to get Kunz to sit down with her and eat but he refused.  He continued to stand at her shoulder, watching the crowds of people walking, biking and driving by.

 

It was from the owner of the café that she got the name of a nightclub.  Kunz tried to persuade her to go back to the hotel but she threatened to get out of the car and walk.  Without comment, he drove her to the club.

 

Minako danced and drank and danced some more.  With Americans.  With Brits.  With anyone who asked her.  For hours.

 

All the while, Kunz stood at the edge of the dance floor, holding her shawl and her purse.

 

Watching the crowds.

 

Never her.

 

Finally she’d had enough.  Kunz didn’t say a word as he escorted her back to the car and drove her back to the hotel.

 

Minako only slept for a few hours.  Her mind kept focusing on Kunz.  She wanted him to do more than just watch her.

 

She wanted him in her bed.

 

_I am a sick, sick person._

_He tried to kill all of us including the People of Earth and I want him between my thighs and clawing his back._

_I need the girls.  I wish they were here with me._

_I am a sick, sick person._

 

Minako crawled out of the bed and walked to the windows that covered one entire wall.  She pulled aside one drape and stood looking out over the city.  The sun was up and shining down.  Not a cloud in the sky.  It was a beautiful day.  But she didn’t feel beautiful at all.

 

She felt…small.

 

With a snort of disgust, she let the drape fall.  She turned and walked toward the bathroom, stripping off the long t-shirt she wore as nightwear instead of something flimsy.  She tossed it on the floor behind her.

 

She stood in the shower long after she shampooed and rinsed her hair.  Just letting the hot water beat down on her.  Finally she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, wrapping towels around her body and her hair.

 

She had just finished drying her hair and was tying her silk robe shut when the world seemed to end.

 

She screamed as the building shook violently around her.  The mirror shattered.  Tiles exploded off the shower walls.  The floor screamed beneath her.  Dust filled the air.  Her ears rang.

 

She dropped to her knees and prayed.

 

Finally the world held still.  But she still shook.

 

Eventually she got the courage to try and open the bathroom door.  It didn’t want to.  But she managed to open it enough to stick out her head.

 

She was outside.

 

The windows that had been her outer wall were gone as was her bed.

 

She watched numbly as her t-shirt nightgown floated away in the wind that was screaming through her room.

 

The carpet was shredded and the remnants were flapping in the wind that careened through the wreckage that once was her hotel room.

 

**“VENUS!!”**

 

Minako started at the roar.  But she knew that voice.

 

“Kunzite.”  Her voice was a mere thread of sound.

 

He appeared in the destroyed doorway to her room.

 

He was dirty.  His clothes were torn.  He was bleeding.  He had a gun in his hand.

 

He was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

 

They stared at each other as he holstered his weapon.

 

“You’re okay.”  It was a statement.  Not a question.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Stay there.”  This was one order she would obey.

 

Kunz looked at the floor.  More than half of it was gone and the rest was badly broken.  He stepped carefully and stayed as close to the wall as he could as he made his way to her.  She stepped back as he reached the bathroom door.  He had to kick it to get it wide enough for him to step through.

 

They stared at each other.

 

Kunz reached out and wrapped a hand in her hair and the other around her waist and yanked her to him.  He kissed her deeply and thoroughly.  “I thought I’d lost you.”

 

Minako buried her face against his chest.  “I’m here.”  She looked up at him.  “What happened?”

 

“Truck bomb.” Came the grim reply.

 

“Oh Goddess!”

 

He looked at the thin silk robe she was wearing and took off his t-shirt.  She didn’t say anything as he pulled it over her head, put her arms through the sleeves and tugged it down her body.  He turned her around and quickly braided her hair.  He turned her back round, hands on her shoulders.

 

Gray eyes looked into blue.

 

 

 

Minako could hear screams and sirens.  Tears fell.  She hoped that her friends and colleagues were alive but she knew that it wasn’t possible for all of them to survive.  They were on floors below hers.

 

Kunz refused to put her down.  Debris littered the hallways.  Plaster, metal and glass.  She didn’t have any shoes.

 

He opened the emergency stairway and peered in carefully before entering.  He drew his gun from his holster and began walking down.  Minako knew what he was thinking and continued to stay quiet and hold onto his belt.

 

Eventually they made it into the lobby where they were directed to the back of the building where a triage had been set up.

 

Kunz set her back on her feet and they looked at each other. 

 

Minako held up her hand.  In it was her Crystal.

 

“Will you forgive me for hating you?” she asked.

 

“You had every right.” He replied.

 

“Not anymore.”  She stood up on tiptoe and kissed him as thoroughly as he had kissed her.

 

She knew that he would always make her happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: Kunz means “Honest Advisor” – I couldn’t help but chose this name once I saw it! – and Herrmann means “Warrior, soldier”


	6. Epilogue

Mamoru stood next to Usagi at the airport.  She bounced anxiously on her toes as they waited for their friends to return.  He wasn’t sure how she managed to arrange that the girls’ flights arrived at more or less at the same time, but they were all getting there within minutes of each other.

 

Mamoru was appalled that each of the girls had gone through so much on this Quest that Usagi had sent them on.  Usagi had cried too but told him that all Quests required some sort of danger…otherwise they wouldn’t be Quests.

 

Mamoru didn’t say anything to her but he thought that there had been a little too much danger.  Especially for Minako.

 

The couple had been so relieved to hear her voice.  Usagi cried when Minako told them that she was unhurt but that the photographer and her friend David had been killed.

 

Mamoru pulled Usagi close and kissed the top of her head.  She looked up at him and smiled.

 

“By the way, my love.”

 

“Hmmm.”  Usagi was looking at the boards displaying the flights.

 

“Why did you have me rent a passenger van for twelve?”

 

“We’ll need the room.”

 

“The girls couldn’t possible have that much luggage.  Minako lost everything, remember?”

 

“She had a layover in London.  She wanted to make sure her friend David got home safely.”

 

Mamoru nodded.  He understood why Minako accompanied her friend’s body home.  Then he groaned.  A layover in London meant that she would have been able to buy new clothes.  And Minako never did anything by halves.  He pulled out his wallet and counted the cash inside.  _I don’t have enough to bribe the porters._   He started looking around for a cash machine.  He was beginning to be very thankful that Usagi insisted on the large van.

 

“There they are!”  Usagi’s squeal of joy brought him back to the present.

 

He followed Usagi’s pointing finger and saw the girls.  He was relieved to see that they were unchanged, except for the cast on Ami’s arm.

 

Then he noticed who was standing next to each of the girls.

 

He stared at them in shock.

 

Usagi tugged at his arm until he looked down at her.  “Usagi, what did you do?”

 

She smiled sweetly.  “I sent them on a Quest.  Two Quests in a way.”

 

“They betrayed us.  They betrayed _me_!”

 

Usagi smiled and reached up to stroke his cheek.  For a split second he saw that she had the _Ginzuishou_ in her hand.

 

Mamoru felt the tears run down his cheeks as he gazed at the woman that he loved.

 

“Do you understand now?” she asked.

 

“Yeah.  I do.”  He wiped the tears away.

 

She gave him a small push.  “Go say ‘Hello’ to them.  It’s been a long time.”

 

“Yeah, it has been.”  Mamoru pulled Usagi close and kissed her.  “Thank you, my love.” 

 

He turned and walked towards the four men who started walking towards him.  They met him halfway and stared at each other for a moment.  Then it was grins and brotherly hugs.

 

Usagi practically danced to her friends.  She was greeted by frowns and glares.  She stopped, startled.  “What?”

 

“Manipulative brat!” Said Rei.

 

“Cheater!” said Makoto

 

“Usagi, really!” said Ami.

 

Minako stood and looked at her friend.  “Did you know that was going to happen?”

 

Usagi reached out and took Minako’s hand and looked her in the eyes.  “No.  I never dreamed that was going to happen.  That any of it would happen.  If I had known, I wouldn’t have sent you…I don’t think.”  She looked at all of them.  “What I wanted was for all of you to be happy.  And sometimes that takes a challenge.  All of you succeeded.”  She looked back at Mamoru and the Shitennou.  “You succeeded for yourselves and for him.”  She paused.  “Thank you.”

 

“You owe us!”

 

“What?  What do you mean I owe you?  I helped you find true love!”

 

“Oh, you owe us and you’re going to pay!”

 

“That is not fair!”

 

The five men looked at each other as their women began arguing.  Kunzite raised an eyebrow at the other four.  “Shall we act like the brave warriors that we’re supposed to be and break it up so we can get out of this airport?”

 

“Hell no!” drawled Jadeite.

 

“There’s a bar over there.” Pointed Zoicite.

 

“Good idea.” Said Nephrite.

 

Mamoru slapped Kunzite on the back and led the way to the bar.  “First round’s on me!”

 

The girls never noticed that the men left. 

 

At least not for a while.

 

**_ THE END _ **


End file.
